


La Belle Fleur Sauvage

by JustAnotherWriterChica



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, song au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-07-12 05:58:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19941337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherWriterChica/pseuds/JustAnotherWriterChica
Summary: Yasmin Khan has always had a love of stories, ever since she was a little girl but there was one tale in particular that Yaz could never let go. Now she has the opportunity to get some real answers about the story and the blonde woman appearing in her dreams and she’s not going to let the chance pass her by.This story is an AU based off of Lord Huron’s “La Belle Fleur Sauvage.” If you’ve never heard it I highly recommend giving it a listen.





	La Belle Fleur Sauvage

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for any grammatical errors as I wrote this over the past two nights at about 1 AM. Also, I have no idea if the jobs I gave Team Tardis are actually real things but for now let’s just pretend that they are?

For as long as Yasmin Khan could remember she had been obsessed with stories. Tall tales. Legends. Folklore. Myths.

Any sort of fable or passage that she could get her hands on was consumed in a matter of hours. From a very young age Yaz’ life had been filled with fantastic fantasies, daring heroes, and incredible love. It may have inflated her perception of the real world a tiny bit, but she wouldn’t have had it any other way. She owed all of this wonder and grandiosity to her father, who had sparked her love for the mythic with the bedtime stories he would tell her as a young girl. 

Many of the stories that he told Yaz were cultural or even dramatized versions of events that had happened in his real life, but every now and then he would pick up a library book on the way home, to give his creativity a break he would say, that was filled with the types of tales Yasmin longed to hear. Yaz hung on his every word those nights. Her father could craft a wonderful story just from memory but the words that flowed from those pages were beyond imagination. They transported her to other worlds and Yaz cherished every second she got to go on those journeys with her father.

However, there was always one story that Yaz seemed to cling to, to the point that they read it so often that within a few months Yaz could recite it word for word. The story was called “la belle fleur sauvage” and if Yasmin had to put it into a category she would call it folklore, or perhaps a tall tale. They came across it by accident one night when a few torn out pages fell out of the back of one of the library books her father had nabbed on the way home. 

Simply put the story goes…

One day many, many, many years ago a weary traveller happened upon a small town nestled in the valley between a smattering of looming mountains. The young traveller made his way to the local inn, looking for a warm meal and a place to stay. Upon entering the establishment the boy sparked up a conversation with a group of men who looked to be part of his usual company, those looking for adventure, who went where the wind took them. When he asked them where they were headed to next the man at the head of the table whispered to the young traveller that they were going to find  _la belle fleur sauvage_ .

The traveller had never heard of such a thing and he asked the other men what they could possibly be referring to. So they told the man the story of the woman who supposedly lived somewhere within the mountains. The woman who didn’t age. The woman who no one could ever truly recall seeing. The woman who had sent thousands of men home completely changed, even the merriest spirits returning with darkened hearts and phantom pains, and hundreds more who had never returned at all. According to this party, the woman had been around for hundreds, maybe even thousands of years and not a single soul could give an accurate description of her. Descriptions ranged from tall as a giant, to beautiful as Aphrodite, to as fearsome as the werewolves that prowl the gothic forests. Nothing entirely accurate or even remotely similar.

The band of men were set out to leave for their trip the next morning, as soon as the sun rose, and they extended an invite to the young traveller. He told them he would sleep on their offer and headed to his room. However that night he grew terribly sick and in his feverish haze missed the opportunity to forge into the mountains with the other men. He spent the next few days in his room trying to recover and finally, five days later, he was well enough to spend some time down in the pub and get a hot meal.

Just as he made to sit down three men burst through the door, clothes torn and panting as though they had run all the way from the mountaintop. And apparently they had, they informed the young traveller as they came to sit with him once more. When he asked what had happened to them they could provide very few details except that they had found the mysterious woman and that the other four members of their group had died along the journey back. Their eyes looked haunted and they struggled to control their emotions as they recounted the deaths of their friends.

Eventually our young traveller parted ways from this group as they went to rest before preparing to journey home. Their story stuck with him though as he peered up at the great mountains whose peaks were shrouded in clouds and whose sides were covered with dense woods. It was in that moment that he had made the decision to stay within this small village in the valley and warn other travelers who might risk their lives to find the unobtainable. That day, the young traveller vowed that no more souls would be lost to  _la belle fleur sauvage_ . 

It was this story that influenced a majority of the big decisions that Yaz made in life. For example, in university Yaz’ love of stories had led her to decide to study classical languages and literature which her mother had not been to excited about, but it had made her father ecstatic. That was all the confirmation Yaz needed to know she was on the right path. Her love for literature and fiction had only grown during that time and now she worked for the university, and sometimes museums, to find, authenticate, and acquire ancient and rare texts all around the world.

Actually she was part of a team which completed these tasks. Yaz worked with an older gentleman named Graham, who was practically her grandfather at this point in their relationship. He had been working in the field for years and he had the actual authority to authenticate the texts, whereas Yaz did the preliminary checks to see if it was worth their time. Her other teammate was Ryan, and Graham was actually his granddad. Ryan and Yaz had been mates during university, as their classes often coincided, but whereas Yaz studied literature and language, Ryan studied literature and history. When they were given a new text to look into, Ryan did a lot of the initial research that told them if their text was even consistent with history and therefore, worth Yaz spending time to do the preliminary checks. Good system they had going here. 

Lots of overlap between everyone’s jobs really, which is why it was so perfect. They were a solid unit the three of them and currently they were sitting in their office in the university library, filling out some follow up paperwork from their last trip. Well, Yaz was. The boys were debating what the best trip they’d ever taken was. 

Which they did every time they returned home. 

“No! I did not say that Peru was the best place we’ve ever been.” Ryan retorted as he spun in his chair. “I just said it wasn’t the worst. You can’t tell me that visiting Machu Pichu wasn’t bloody brilliant.”

Graham shook his head as he half-heartedly glanced at the mound of paperwork on his desk. “Machu Pichu was fine. The landslide we almost got caught in, however, not so fun.”

Ryan rolled his eyes and looked to Yaz for support but she stared at her desk, refusing to be pulled into this silly argument once more. Secretly she did have a favorite and it was when they went to Prague this past winter. Ryan had bitched about the snow the entire time but Yaz adored the way it looked on all the architecture, especially when she had wandered from their hotel one morning and managed to make her way to the Charles Bridge just as the sun rose. 

It was tranquil and breathtaking. Not something the boys always appreciated; Ryan less so than Graham and even he had his moments.

The boys continued to argue as Yasmin pulled out her computer, checking to see if there were any new emails from their bosses about what was next. Yaz had been working in this department for only a little over a year and in that time she found that there was usually only a week or two of downtime before they were traveling again. It was exactly the kind of lifestyle Yaz wanted, one that mirrored the stories she loved so much and that brought new tales into the lives of others. 

As Yaz pulled up her email she found that there was nothing new in her inbox and sighed as her chin dropped into her hand. Maybe if she hit refresh enough times that might change. 

And sure enough, on the twelfth refresh it did. A new email had appeared in her inbox, subject line reading “next stop: Jura mountains.” Their department head liked to try to have a little fun in their online exchanges, thankfully this email didn’t involve the use of alliteration or any type of rhyme scheme. She understood how the classics could get a bad name when cheesy people like him represented her field. 

Yaz clicked on it and let her eyes roll over the following words.  _Blah blah blah_ Jura Mountains  _blah blah blah_ french text  _blah blah blah_ la fleur sauvage . She had to work very hard to stifle a gasp or any other kind of knee jerk reaction that would cause the boys to move towards her computer, Yaz wanted a moment to herself to process this.

There had always been a very, incredibly slim possibility that Yaz would come across something relating to this story in her line of work but she never thought it would actually happen. Sure she imagined it happening a lot, she even had dreams about herself as the traveller as frequently as last week, but never did she think she’d be this lucky. Yasmin didn’t know what to do with herself right now she was so excited.

The Jura Mountains, that’s where her dreams lied. The story that had quite literally driven her life was within reach and if they were going there she was sure as hell going to investigate it. The boys would probably come along with her, which was a good thing if the legends rang entirely true, but this could potentially be the greatest adventure of her life.

“Boys shut it will you? We’ve got a new case and apparently we leave tomorrow so we’ve got a long day ahead of us to prepare.” Yaz swiveled to face the men who had frozen in place as she spoke, Ryan with a sandwich halfway into his mouth and Graham making a list on his fingers.

Graham was the first to recover, leaning back in his chair as he started clicking around on the computer. “Jura, what is that France? Some text about ‘the beautiful wild flower’…” Yaz waited and watched as Graham trailed off, she could see the gears turning in his head. “Oi Yaz, ain’t that the story you love? The one with the woman hidden away in the mountains?”

Yaz nodded vigorously, not able to help the grin that was spreading across her face. “Indeed it is Graham and we’re going to get to the heart of this legend! This is literally everything I’ve ever wanted and worked for, I can’t really believe it just landed in our laps.”

“I don’t see why you love this one so much.” Ryan piped up as his eyes scanned the screen, taking in the details he would need for his bit of research. “There isn’t any action, no key history tied to it, not even any concrete details aside from the fact that this nutter stayed in that valley on a whim.”

“I know on the surface this story isn’t the most thrilling thing, especially compared to some of the texts we’ve grabbed,” Yaz conceded, “But it’s important to me. Ever since the first time my dad read it to me I just felt this connection to it. I can’t explain it, just something in my gut that made it seem so special. Besides, the trip will be fun. Beautiful mountains, French girls, something for everyone.”

Both of those options seemed to appeal to Graham and Ryan respectively and aside from a couple of utterances under their breath they both set to work. Yaz turned back to her computer as well, intent on doing the most intense research she ever had, even over the sound of Ryan’s chewing.

That night when Yasmin finally returned to her flat she was utterly exhausted. She had spent hours upon hours scouring the internet and library for anything that could possibly relate to this story. Unfortunately, like Ryan had said, there really wasn’t a lot of details surrounding the tale, which was a bit off since it seemed that the story could be traced to just about every culture. As far as Yaz could tell everyone had their own version of the tale, each with slight variations but all with the same message: no one knew anything about the woman hidden in the mountains and that sometimes people died trying to find her.

It was a little disappointing but hopefully with the emergence of this new text there would be a new light shed on this myth, maybe even connecting it to other stories she had never even considered. Whatever happened, tomorrow she would have more answers and be closer to her favorite story than ever before.

As Yaz moved through her apartment she began to grab various things to throw back in her suitcase, not even bothering to make herself a real meal or do anything remotely related to self care. Ryan had dozed off towards the end of their night so she had just started picking at the sub and chips he had ordered in, so she was pretty content on that front. 

Her suitcase was still pretty much packed so there wasn’t much to do to prepare for tomorrow morning. They had only returned from their last trip three days ago and Yaz usually didn’t bother to unpack for a week as she loathed it so much. Not a tedious chore but one of her least favorite things to do for whatever reason.

By the time she was done putting in some last minute wardrobe changes, more clean hiking gear for example, to her luggage she was into the shower and then off to bed. It felt like as soon as Yaz’ head had hit the pillow she had fallen asleep immediately. Not something she minded when she constantly had jet lag. A couple solid hours was probably due since she had a feeling that she wouldn’t get much once they made it to France so she rolled onto her stomach and let sleep take her. 

A moment later Yaz was opening her eyes once more, blinking awake as she readjusted to the light. Except, there hadn’t been any light in her flat when she had lied down. Oh god, what if she had missed her flight! The boys would kill her. 

The thought set her into motion and Yaz jolted into a sitting position, reaching over to her night stand to grab her phone. She probably had a ton of missed calls and text messages. Ryan had a key to her flat though so why wouldn’t he have just used that and come to check on her? They usually did ever since that one time last year Ryan had almost missed their flight to Italy. 

As Yaz rubbed her eyes her hand flailed about, trying to blindly grab at her phone. When she felt something solid she snatched it up and brought it up to her face only to discover that the item she had grabbed was in fact a rock. 

Odd.

Yaz glanced up and let out a gasp as she finally took in her surroundings. She wasn’t in her flat. Not even in Sheffield by the looks of it. She was in a grassy clearing surrounded by tall evergreens and when she looked beyond that she could see mountain peaks not too far off. 

As Yaz rose to her feet, dusting herself off, she came to the conclusion that she was dreaming. It was the only logical reason for it since she had only just fallen asleep. If it wasn’t a dream surely she would remember traveling or something.

Yeah, just a dream.

Since it was a dream, which she assumed would have a plot at some point, Yaz took a look around her surroundings. After a quick swivel on her feet she came to the conclusion that she was in a clearing somewhere actually on a mountain, not surprising since she had been looking up the landscape of the Jura mountains right before leaving work.

If she listened hard enough she could hear water not too far off, just past the tree line it seemed like so she started walking in that direction. In her dream it appeared to be dusk, a little lighter than it had been in the real world when she fell off, but it was still dark enough to make her walk slowly so as to not trip on any tree roots.

Apparently that was unavoidable though and Yaz laughed at herself as she tripped over her third root of the night. Slowing down a considerable bit more Yaz took in more of the nature around her. The trees were beautiful if not a bit odd, some of them bent at weird angles which she had never seen before. But then again, it was a dream so anything is possible really. As she got closer to the water Yaz also noticed that there was a small path lined with pebbles at her feet, as though someone or something was marking the way to the stream. Again, odd, but also again, still a dream so Yaz tried not to think too much of it. 

When she finally emerged from the treeline she had a clear view of the stream, crystal clear water that seemed to emerge from a cave not too far to the left and sounded much quieter now that Yaz was actually standing next to it. Actually it was kind of odd, the only noises right now were the slight breeze that was gently lifting her hair and the current of the water. 

Yaz took a few steps closer to the water but froze when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned to face the newcomer and found that the other woman’s attention was solely focused on the basket in her hand, probably not expecting someone else to be up here. The blonde woman took a few steps more before crouching down at the stream’s edge, taking a few items out of the basket and beginning to wash them off. Yaz took the opportunity to take in some more details about the woman. 

She appeared to be a bit taller than Yaz. Blonde (like she had already mentioned) with short hair that seemed to have a tiny wave to it. If Yaz squinted she thought she could also see some jewelry hanging from her ear, gold if she had to guess. The crouching woman was clothed in a light blue dress that fell just below her knees and bare feet. She looked like she belonged in nature quite frankly, almost nymphlike.

After another few seconds of the blonde ignoring her Yaz cleared her throat. This apparently was not the best move though as the woman let out a startled gasp and almost fell into the water, just catching herself in time to avoid a soggy fate. The blonde turned to face her once steadying herself and Yaz could swear she’s never seen anyone’s eyes grow so big. “Who are you?”

The woman asked it with such genuine curiosity that Yaz found herself cracking a smile. “Uh, I’m Yasmin. Khan. My mates call me Yaz.” She wasn’t sure why she added that part but she felt as though it needed to be said.

The blonde rose to her feet slowly, the bewildered look in her eye instead turning to one of suspicion. “And what are you doing here Yasmin Khan?” 

“I really think I should be asking you that, you’re the one in my dream after all.” Yaz was not going to have this turned on her, not when she was in her own head. However, it seemed like her response was not one that the blonde was expecting as her mouth suddenly and quite comically dropped open.

“Dream? I’m in your dream? As in, you fell asleep in your bed and opened your eyes up here?”

“Yes, that is usually how dreams work I think.” Now it was Yaz’ turn to cast the weary glance as the blonde stepped closer, almost into her personal space, and eyed her up and down. “Sorry, can I ask what this is about and who you are?”

The blonde stopped in her appraisal of Yaz and met her gaze, the corner of her eyes crinkling as she smiled at the shorter woman. “Sorry about that Yaz, haven’t had a visitor in a while and usually… well sometimes they’re not always the best kind that visit. Do you know what I mean? Anyways, I’m Johanna, Jo if we’re doing nicknames.” 

Johanna stuck her hand out for Yaz to shake and after a moment’s hesitation she did. She almost regretted doing it though because as soon as they touched Yaz felt a great tug in her stomach and she suddenly felt very faint. Even upon releasing Jo’s hand, Yaz couldn’t quite shake the feeling, “I think I need to sit for a second.”

With that Yaz plopped herself onto the ground, Jo joining her not even two seconds later. “You alright Yaz? You sort of lost your color here.” She pointed to Yaz’ lips. “Can I get you anything?”

Yaz shook her head but quite immediately regretted it. “No, just need to breath thanks. Just give me a minute and I should be good to go.”

Except she knew she was only going to be feeling worse in a minute so Yaz laid back on the ground, intent on not yakking in front of this beautiful dream woman. She clasped a hand over her eyes, trying to clear her mind for a moment, when she heard a noise beside her. Yaz lifted her hand to find Johanna had laid down next to her and was looking up to the sky that had already turned black, lit only by the moon and stars now. 

“Can I tell you something Yaz? Maybe it’ll take your mind off of that ill feeling long enough for it to go away.” When Yaz gave a nod Johanna continued on, but this time at a whisper and in a tone that belied much trepidation. “I think you might be really special Yasmin Khan, possibly more so than you could ever imagine. No one has found me for quite some years now, even longer since anyone has seen the real me, and never have I appeared in someone’s dreams. Not in all the years I’ve been on this earth and I’ve been around a long, long time.”

This definitely caught Yaz’ attention and she clung to every word the blonde uttered. When she seemed to pause for quite some time Yaz turned to peer at her, “Who are you, really?”

Jo bit out a humorless laugh that jostled their touching shoulders. “That’s a good question. A lot of people call me a lot of different things. A monster, a myth, an enchantress. You name it, I’ve probably heard it come my way at some point over the years. There was one name I always liked though, the French gave it to me. They called me “la belle fleur sauvage.” Has a nice ring don’t you think?”

This time it was Yaz’ turn to let her jaw drop and she felt her blood run cold. “No.” She whispered so quietly that she didn’t think Jo could hear, even with their proximity. It couldn’t be, could it? After all these years searching could Yaz have finally found her? Her mind began to race with questions and possibilities but they all came screeching to a halt when she remembered one thing. “I want so badly to believe what you just said but this is just a dream. I’ve spent the last thirteen years of my life dreaming about this story and now that I’m so close to finding answers my mind has run away with the ideas. You’re just a fantasy.”

Jo watched as Yasmin’s entire body deflated with her words. She only understood some of what the girl was saying though so she asked, “Thirteen years? What do you mean?”

Yaz rolled her eyes but explained anyways, “Thirteen years ago my dad read me a story about “la belle fleur sauvage” and I fell in love with it. Every single word. I would dream about it all the time but never with any vivid details or anything to spark an idea about the missing details from the story. For some reason the woman always appeared as a flower to me too, probably because of the story’s name.” Yaz looked over to check if Jo was still listening and she found deep emotion that she couldn’t process at the moment swimming in her eyes. “Anyways, now I’m about to leave on this trip to investigate my favorite tall tale so of course I would dream up some new fantasy the night before.”

“Investigate? Investigate what? I haven’t interacted with anyone for the last few decades so there’s no way someone’s gone missing or anything like that.” Johanna wondered aloud and scrunched her nose with confusion, which Yaz would freely admit was quite adorable.

“Not a missing person, a new text. I sort of study and authenticate literature for universities and museums, sometimes travel to retrieve them ya know?” Johanna did not look like she knew but Yaz moved on. “A journal was found near the base of the Jura mountains, said to be a traveller’s account of his journey to find… well you I suppose. My team and I are coming to collect it.”

That Johanna definitely understood as her eyes lit up once more, hazel irises sparking with energy that Yaz found a bit entrancing. Jo sat up, leaning over Yaz as she began to excitedly rattle, “You’re coming here?! Oh Yaz, this is perfect don’t you see! When you come to the Jura mountains you have to find me. You’ve seen what this place looks like, you could find it again, plus now that I know you’re coming I could help you.”

Yaz glanced up at the woman skeptically, “Yeah but you’re just a dream remember? There’s nothing to actually find out in those mountains aside from some journal, please don’t be getting my hopes up too high.”

Johanna took in the pleading look in Yaz’ eyes and sighed as she tried to think up some way to show Yaz that this was all real, that she was real. And more importantly that she needed Yaz to find her. A quick glance around and she had an idea. “One sec,” she murmured before hurrying back towards her forgotten basket. She picked through the items inside before letting out a loud “aha!”

Yaz lifted her head to see what had warranted the exclamation but Johanna was quickly at her side once more. She pushed herself up to a seated position, happy to find that her nausea was gone, before taking a glance at what was in Johanna’s hands. The blonde grinned as she opened her hands to reveal a rusty compass. 

“And what am I supposed to do with this?” Yaz smirked as Johanna placed it in her hand, rolling the item in her hand for a moment to get a feel for it. When she looked back Yaz let out a gasp when she realized that Jo’s face was only a few inches apart from hers. 

“I don’t want you to do anything with it, just keep it as a reminder. Actually, keep it as proof that this isn’t just a dream and that I’m really waiting on you to come find me Yaz.” Hazel bore into brown with desperate intensity as the two held each other’s gazes. Yaz was the first to break it as she glanced down at the compass, trying to escape the emotion that was suddenly surging to life in her chest.

Jo nodded and sat back on her heels for a moment, clapping her hands on her thighs. “Right! Well you have a good and safe trip to Jura now Yaz. I hope to see you very soon. Now, wake up and come find me.” With that the blonde rose once more and leaned forward, pressing a short and gentle kiss to Yaz’ forehead before everything faded too black.

Yaz woke with a start, jolting into a sitting position as she tried to get a grip. This time when she opened her eyes she found she was actually in the bedroom of her flat, first rays of morning sun creeping in around her curtains. Yaz sat for a moment, trying to process all of her memories from her dream. It simultaneously felt like everything had happened years ago but also like it had only been mere seconds. It was a little off-putting.

She tried to shrug it off and reach for her phone, to check the time and send Ryan a text to make sure he was waking up, when she realized she was already holding something. Yaz opened her palm and let out a gasp when, sure enough, the space was occupied by a small rusty compass.

Yaz couldn’t process what that meant right now. There were too many implications, too many possibilities. Instead, she quickly got herself ready for the day, tucking the compass in her pocket as she grabbed her luggage and headed to the door. She had a two hour flight ahead of her where she could spend every second wondering, for now she had a flight to catch. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for the read! Kudos and comments are always appreciated, let me know what you think!


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